How rich is "wealthy"?

NY Post ^ | September 26, 2010 | Professor Todd Henderson

[Scanian]

This week, Professor Todd Henderson criticized Obama’s plan to let tax cuts for the “rich” expire. Online criticism that he was “out of touch” was so fierce, Henderson swore off blogging. An excerpt from his original remarks:

I’m the president’s neighbor in Chicago, but we’ve never met. I wish we could, because I would introduce him to my family and our lifestyle, one he believes is capable of financing the vast expansion of government he is planning. A quick look at our family budget will show him that, like many Americans, we are just getting by despite seeming to be rich. We aren’t.

I, like the president before me, am a law professor at the University of Chicago Law School, and my wife, like the first lady before her, works at the University of Chicago Hospitals, where she is a doctor who treats children with cancer. Our combined income exceeds the $250,000 threshold for the super rich (but not by that much), and the president plans on raising my taxes.

The biggest expense for us is financing government. Last year, my wife and I paid nearly $100,000 in federal and state taxes. We pay about $15,000 in property taxes, about half of which goes to fund public education in Chicago. Since we care about the education of our three children, this means we also have to pay to send them to private school. Like most working Americans, insurance, doctors’ bills, utilities, two cars, day care, groceries, gasoline and cellphones round out our monthly expenses. At the end of all this, we have less than a few hundred dollars per month of discretionary income.

[ridesthemiles]

At the end of each month we have more money than we had before!”

I have been telling small businesses that they should cut everything back to only Mom & Pop.

I contend that while the gross will drop, the operating expenses & disruption from ungrateful employees will also drop. So will reams of Fed & state paperwork.

Either they will have the same net income or they may easily have even more. One thing that will drop is the aggravation from employees & the coming NObama HELLTH care costs.

[mainsail that]

I guess everyone wants to tax the ‘richer’ people.

However, for whining that he barely makes it, when he put his expenses and taxes he should have been more open and shown everything, including salary. Not just “over $250K”

[FightThePower!]

Plus if people do what you tell them, it will have the added benefit of starving the government of revenue. And if you care about this country is the only way to change it.

[Pollster1]

Thank you for your financial sacrifice on behalf of the greater good of the country.

It's actually not a sacrifice, just a choice. We've got no debt at all, and our expenses are even less than I still make. We just got rid of frills that we don't need and traded them for more time as a family. My old work was the sacrifice, even though an honest pollster really does contribute since he helps what has become the ruling class know what those who are now seen as "the little people" want.

[kAcknor]

I guess we all like to b*tch, regardless of income.

I just dislike all this “Tax the other guy” talk and would rather see a no income tax at all, or a simple flat tax.

10 to 20% off the top for EVERYONE, for all income. If a kid makes $500 bucks doing lawns in the summer time then the kids pays. If Bill Gates makes $300 million from interest and investments he pays too.

That way we can all b*tch equally. ;)